1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for treating wounds or reproducing skin comprising the Euphorbia kansui extract, the fractions thereof, or the diterpene compound isolated therefrom as an active ingredient.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Euphorbia kansui extract has been known, according to the traditional oriental medicine, to have cardiotonic activity, diarrhea inducing activity (stimulating intestines to promote peristaltic motion and to cause diarrhea), diuretic effect, and anti-inflammatory activity, and to be effective in treating swelling, hydrops abdominis, short of breath, difficulty in discharging urine, dropsy, ascites (pondong), beriberi, dyspnea with cough, pleuritis, heart pain, jaundice, malaria, chronic indigestion, swelling/bloating, water brash, chest bind, diabetes, paresthesia with pain, illeus and urinary disorder, epilepsy, esophageal cancer, and wet pleurisy, and also has been known as an ingredient of a medicine for discharging urine and for inducing diarrhea. However, the biological activity of the extract has not been clearly explained, yet.
The reproduction of epithelial cell is a very important factor for wound-healing. It has been recently disclosed that the cell activity related to the reproduction of epithelial cell is based on the activities of PKD1 and ERK1 (J Biol Chem. 2010 Jul. 23; 285(30):23387-97. Epub 2010 May 12. Nature, 2008 May 15; 453(7193):314-21: J Biol Chem, 2005 Sep. 30; 280(39):33262-9. Epub 2005 Jul. 8). Based on the previous report concerning the analysis of the changes in skin tissues investigated in order to examine the reproduction of damaged skin, the active materials working on the wounded skin are EGF, FGF, and HGF, which are known as the cell scattering factors to increase cell migration (EMBO J. 2011 Feb. 16; 30(4):783-95. Epub 2011 Jan. 11:Mol Physiol, 2010 June; 298(6):L715-31:J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, 2011 Dec. 26. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2011.04415.x). There have been attempts made to identify a natural material from an extract of a natural substance that has the ability to induce the generation of such active materials to revitalize the damaged epithelial cells. That is, a novel natural material that is effective in wound-healing has been developed among the extracts of natural substances based on physiological basis. However, there is no report yet to say that the Euphorbia kansui extract or the fractions thereof is effective in inducing the activation of epithelial cells or in wound-healing.
In the course of study to develop a natural drug effective in wound-healing, the present inventors confirmed through animal test that the Euphorbia kansui extract was excellent in increasing the cell migration activity of HGF, the intrinsic factor of epithelial cell, in inducing the activation of PKE1 and the phosphorylation of ERK1 which are the basic cell signaling systems having intracellular activity, and in promoting recovery from would, suggesting that the said extract had the activity of recovering skin damage or reproducing skin, leading to the completion of the present invention.